Pat and Plain

Actor’s copies of the Pat and Plain drama series by Dan Gordon are now available to download.

The Boat Factory... This is the story of a new apprentice in the Belfast Shipyard in the late fifties. Willie McCandless is 14 years old. When he arrives late for his first day of work at Harland and Wolff, fellow apprentice, Tucker Wylie, takes him under his wing and explains to Willie what life in ‘The Boat Factory’ with 35,000 men will be like.

Kissing the Shuttle…for 13 year olds Katy, Marie, Sadie & Hetty it’s their first day as full-timers in the mill. Woken at half past five by the Rapper-up, they make it past the Timekeeper and the new Foreman before meeting their Doffing Mistress, Lizzie Longley. As they take new doffer, Agnes Roberts, under their wing we get a fascinating insight into the lives of the 90,000 men and women who worked in the Mills of Ulster.

A Lemonade Bottle for Clabberin’ Hitler…it’s 1939 and in Belfast, neighbours Aggie and Maggie hear the Prime Minister announce that the country is at war with Germany. As the politicians debate the issue in Stormont, citizens like wee Hughie Speers have their own ideas on defence! It’s business as usual, as children continue going to school and play games in the street, but everyone must learn to cope with blackouts, sirens, gas masks & rations. Then, in 1941, the city is devastated as the threat of attack becomes reality.

Sit There For The Present...the story of a group of children at school in the early fifties when learning was often purely fact-based and by rote. Away from school they play traditional games and vie for ownership of the local glen.

Scahldies Up The Chimley...the story of a group of children evacuated to the countryside during World War II. They are city dwellers and through their eyes we learn a little of what farming life entails.

A new box set containing hard copies of all six scripts in the Pat & Plain series is now available: ‘The Boat Factory’, 'A Lemonade Bottle For Clabberin' Hitler', 'Kissing The Shuttle', Sit There For The Present', 'Scahldies Up The Chimley' and 'She Was Alright When She Left Us'. Each script includes an accompanying CD containing all the sound effects and music required to deliver a performance of the play.